Dispensing container and top closure therefor



Dec. 8, 1942.

W. F. STRAUB I DISPENSING CONTAINER AND TOP CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed May 18, 1940 Patented Dec. 8, 1942 DISPENSING CONTAINER AND TOP. I Q

' CLOSURE THEREFOR Walter F. Straub, Chicago, 111., assignor to W. F. Straub & Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 18, 1940, Serial its-335,931?

4 Claims. (01. act-'21)- This invention relates generally to improvements in dispensing containers and more particularly concerns containers of this kind having a novel top closure construction.

The general object of .the invention is to provide an improved dispensing container in which the top closure structure is reliably sealed against leakage for safe handling and dispensing,

A more particular. object is to provide an improved top closure fordispensing containers which includes a, sealing liner secured thereto independently of'the securing of the top closure to the body of the container.

Another object isto provide a container construction wherein the top closure has a dispensing. aperture closed by a sealing liner adapted to be conveniently severed to open the container for dispensing and which is permanently secured in place in the top closure before the latter is applied to the container.

Still another-object is to provide a preformed dispensing container top closure and liner assembly which is inexpensive and simple tomake, and eflicient and reliable in use.

Other objects and advantages will become ap-. parent in .thefollowing description and from the accompanying drawingin which: I

Figure 1 is a fragmental perspective view of a container embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary axial sectional view through thetop of the container.

Fig. 3 is aplan view of the liner member embodied in the top structure of the container.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of container embodying the invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary axial sectional view through the top of the container shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a further modified form of container according to the invention.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary axial sectional view through the top of the container of Fig. 6.

Generally speaking, the invention is preferably embodied in a container of the can type,

that is, a container formed of relatively thin material such as sheet metal, and having an enclosing top structure which isat least in part permanently secured to the body of the container. The top closure is constructed with means for controlled dispensing of the container contents but may also be arranged to enable substantial ly unrestricted pouring of the contents. The dispensing means includes an aperture which'prior to the initial act of dispensing is sealed bya shipment prior to which it may conveniently-be moved between the v novel inner liner arrangement 'to avoid leakage during handling and; shipment. This liner is of a character to be easily severedat leastv par tially to' form an-opening therethrough for dispensing. A cover forthe dispensing aperture which-may be closed or replaced .protectsfthe.

contents remaining after only partial dispensing. Such a container is particularly well suited .for use with relatively viscous materialsfls'uch as honey; syrup, motor oils or the like.. 7 r

- Referring more particularly to Figs...l' and 2, which show'one exemplary form oflthe invention, a container construction is shownmhich is adapted to .be opened for substantially ,unre- ;'stricted pouring of the contents or..'for .dispc singthecontents in a relatively small, controlledstream. To this end; the. containerv comprises an opentop hodyl0 which may be closed ,by

a top structure, generallyv designated 11, includ-. ing arim l2 secured-permanently in any pre ferred manner such as by a seaml3.to the upper edge of-the container body... The rim l-Z extends inwardly a limited distance and has. ahexially. extending annular flange .M' defining, alarge opening to permit the unrestricted pouring from. the container. The rinrfiange- I4 is cons'tructed to provide a frictionseatlfora.capv .1 5. The lat-, ter is-constructedto marginally, overlie ,the rim l2 and has an inwardly ofiset area defined by. an inwardly projecting" wall ,ilang'e. l5 and in-, cluding a base wall ll; The wall flange 1 6 fits in frictional, telescoped relation within the rim flange l4, enablingrthe capl5 .to b e pried off' whendesired. v f

A dispensing aperture l8 offlimited area is formed in the base wall I! adjacent to the flange l6 and has the pouring edge spaced from the latter to provide an intervening. sill 19. An elongated sliding cover 20 forthe dispensing aperture l8 has an upstanding handle 21 intermediate ,itsends by closed and open-positions, indicated'in .full. line and dot-dash outline, respectively, in Fig. 2. The upper edge of the handle 2| preferably lies within the plane of the upperedge of the friction cap 15 so that one container may be stacked upon the other; Sliding movement of thecover is guided by alined pairs ofguide lugs 22- struck up from the base wall I! to engage the cover at opposite sides of the handle 2-]. The cover 20 is so proportioned (Fig. 1) that in the-closed position. it covers over the dispensing opening .l8 ..with an all-around overlap of approximately the same distance as the width of the sill IS A projecting lip .or spout in the base wall ll by the striking up therefrom a of the guide lugs 22 is avoided by a sealing liner 25. The latter may be formed from any suitable'. relatively thin sheet material such as cardboard which is at least partially severablev to make an opening therethrough for dispensing.

According to th present invention the liner is secured to the top closure II in a novel manner independently of the securing of the closure to the container body I0. Accordingly, the liner 25 maybe constructed in the shape of a flat circular disk of slightly smaller diameter than the base wall I! of the friction cap but large enough to underlie the sill l9. In this way the liner is adapted to fit flatwise against the inside face of the base wall within the confines of suitable inwardly projecting securing means 21 at themargin of the base wall. In the present instance the securing means 21 comprises a double walled flange formed as an annular inward extension or reverse bend of the wall flange l6 at the periphery of the base wall [1. A close flt is preferably maintained between the wall flange and the base wall periphery. to avoid an objectionable crevice into the flange 21.

In securing the liner 25 in place, the flange 21 is at least partially bent over from an original position, indicated in dot-dash outline in Fig. 2, into clinching relation to the margin of the liner disk, as shown in full outline, which operation may be performed before the closure is placed on the con tainer. Thus, the liner is secured in thorough sealing relation to the inner face of the base wall I! and forms a permanent part of the friction cap l5. This arrangement relieves the liner of any hidden strain or injury in assembly such a might occur where the liner is assembled with the container at the same time as the top closure. Moreover, the liner may be thoroughly inspected after it has been secured in place so as to avoid any uncertainties as to its proper sealing relationship prior to assembly of the! closure with the container.

When the dispensing aperture I 8 is to be placed in use, a portion of the liner 25 exposed through the aperture may be removed as by cutting away with a knife. To facilitate severance of the liner and to avoid pulling the secured margin thereof from the securing means 21, a weakened line or scoring 28 may be preformed in the linerto substantially register with the pouring edg of the dispensingaperture l8. As shown in Fig. 3, the scoring 28 may be abouthalfway around the liner as a convenience for assembly purposes sothat accurate vangularregistration of scor ng anddispensing closure is not required.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and- 5, a container 29 of substantially enlarged size may be provided with a dispensing closure 30 which after filling of the container is permanently secured to the upper edgeof the container body in any preferred manner. The closure 30 may have an inwardly offset base wall- 3! provided with a further inwardly offset smaller dispensing area.32 which is located adjacent to thepe'riphery of the closure and is defined by an inwardly exture 34 is provided by a slide 35 having an outwardly projecting handle 36 the upper edge of which preferably lies Within the uppermost plane 10f the closure 30 so as to avoid interference with stacking of onecontainer upon the other. Alined pairs of guide lugs 31 are struck out from the dispensing area 32 for holding the cover 35 in position and for guiding its opening and closing sliding movements.

To seal the dispensing'area 32 against leakage prior to dispensing, a liner disk 38 is secured to the inner face thereof as by means of a securing flange 39 which forms an inward extension of the wall flange 33 in a manner similar to the flange 21 hereinbefore described in connection with Fig. 2 Through this arrangement; the liner 38 is permanently secured in place and forms a self-contained unit with the closure 30 before the latter is secured to the container body '29.

A similar permanently secured closure construction is shown'in Figs. 6 and '7. Therein a closure 49 is permanently secured to the: upper edge of an open top ,containerbody 4|. A marginal dispensing aperture 42 in the closure is protectively closed by a suitable cover that may be selectivelyopened and closed such asa slide 43 of the ty e' hereinbefore more particularly described. The aperture 42 is sealed prior to dispensing by an inner liner 44.. This liner 44 is secured in abutment with the inner face of the closure 40 as by means of a bent-over inwardly projectingmarginal flange 45 which extends inwardly from the closure and is' formed similarly to the flange 21 in Fig. 2 and the flange, 39 in Fig. 5. It may be noted that the securing flange 45 is adapted to lie close to the wall of the container 4| so as to avoid interference with complete discharge of the container contents.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved dispensing container construction which prior to dispensing is efficiently and 'reliably sealed a ainst leakage. The sealing liner employed for this purpose is secured in place in a novel manner independently of the securing of the closure to the container body. This not only facilitates incorporation of the liner in the construction but also permits inspection of the secured liner to assure perfect sealing when the closure is applied to the container. In other words, complete freedom from leakage due to improperly secured or ruptured liners is thus assured. The novel sealed dispensing closure structure is, moreover, simple and inexpensive to make so that it may be pro duced at low-cost.

I claim as my invention 1. A dispensing container construction of the character described comprising, in combination. a sheet metal closure for the top of the container including a depressed flat base wall portion and an upwardly extending wall peripherally surrounding said base wall portion, said upwardly extending Wall having the lower part thereof extending substantially below said base wall portion and including a tightly folded return bent section and forming an integral connection with the periphery of said base wall portion, said base wall portion having a dispensing aperture of limited dimensions located adjacent to its periphery and having a narrow flat sill along its pouring edge adjoining said upstanding wall, the location of said aperture leaving a large closed area of said base wall portion between the inner, edge of the aperture and the opposite portion of said upstanding wall, a relatively flat cover for said aperture slidably mounted upon said large area and proportioned to extend into sealing relation with said base wall portion entirely about said aperture including said sill, a plurality of lugs struck up from said base wall portion for retaining and guiding said cover, a flat disk liner member of substantially the same diameter as the base wall portion lying against the inner face of said base wall portion for sealing said aperture and the openings formed by the striking out of said lugs, said folded return bent section being turned inwardly for clamping the margin of said liner tightly against the inner lower margin of said base wall portion and said sill.

2. In combination in a dispensing container construction of the character described, particularly adapted for viscous material, a container body, a top closure for said body including a flat base wall portion depressed substantially below the top edge of said body and having an upstanding wall in peripherally surrounding relation thereto, said upstanding Wall having the lower portion thereof extending substantially below said base wall portion and including a tightly closed fold forming an integral connection with said base wall portion, said fold extending inwardly below the margin of said base Wall portion for forming therewith an inwardly opening channel, said base wall portion having an eccentrically located aperture of limited area spaced from said upstanding wall at its pouring edge by a narrow sill and at its opposite edge by a relatively large solid area said sill serving as part of the upper side of said channel, a fiat cover for closing said aperture mounted in facewise engagement upon said large solid area and adapted at its forward end to overlap said sill and abut against the adjacent portion of said upstanding wall, and a liner for sealing said aperture prior to dispensing lying flatwise against said base wall portion and having its margins sealingly engaged within said channel.

3. In a dispensing container of the character.

described, a top closure comprising a flat base wall and an integral upstanding peripheral wall, said peripheral wall extending below said base wall and folded radially inwardly to form with said base wall a channel, a liner having its periphery clamped in said channel, said base wall having an aperture sealed by said liner prior to dispensing said aperture being located adjacent one side of said base wall but spaced from the upstanding wall a distance substantially equal to the depth of the channel, thereby providing a narrow sill, and a flat slide cover mounted on the upper face of said base wall and dimensioned so that in its closed position it will overlap the entire margin of said aperture including said sill.

4. A dispensing container construction of the character described comprising, in combination,

a container body having a top opening defined by an axially extending annular flange, a friction cap for closing said opening, said cap having an inwardly offset base wall and an axially extending wall flange circumscribing said base wall and dimensioned to interfit frictionally with said annular flange to hold the capin container-closing position, said base-wall having a dispensing aperture therein with the pouring edge thereof closely adjacent to at least a portion of said wall flange, and a reinforcing bead extending around said wall flange adjacent th plane of said base wall for strengthening said wall flange against inward distortion and buckling upon compression thereof by frictional engagement with said annular flange in closing said container.

WALTER F. STRAUB. 

